A sign of the times: Hardscuffle Road

The Historic Commission recently announced plans to post new street signs on Brentwood's historically significant roads. The new signs will be designed to include a road's current name as well as its historic one.

Those attending Monday's City Commission meeting got a sneak peek of what the first new sign will look like. They weren't the first people to see it, though. That honor went to those gathered last Saturday for the 25th annual Summer Reunion held at Nashville's Sevier Park.

The reunion brings together former neighbors and landowners of Hardscuffle, the mostly African-American community that was located where east Church Street is today.

“The Hardscuffle Community has played a significant role in Brentwood’s past. These new historic road signs are the first of their kind. The Brentwood Historic Commission is pleased to be able to recognize the many contributions the Hardscuffle Community has made in shaping our history," shared Gil Hutchinson, chair of the Historic Commission's marker committee.

"The feedback we received at their reunion was very positive. You could tell they were both pleasantly surprised and deeply appreciative of the recognition. It felt really good to be able to share the news with them.”

City Commissioner Anne Dunn, the board's longtime representative on the Historic Commission, introduced Hutchinson at Monday's meeting and recognized him for his efforts on behalf of the city.

"Citizens' honor late city historian

When Vance Little died in late March, the city lost its historian and one of its best friends.

Perhaps the saddest part about his death, which came too soon after a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, was that he didn't live to see the Brentwood Room, the local history room planned in our expanded library, named for him. Luckily he did know about the plans and those that he told know how honored and proud he was about it.

On Thursday, the Citizens for Brentwood Green Space announced a donation to the Brentwood Library for the T. Vance Little Room in the amount of $1,125.

“Vance Little was a treasured resource in Brentwood and a tremendous friend to our organization,” founder Stephen Prince said. “Whether it was allowing us to use his facilities for meetings, or providing us with invaluable insights on ways of preserving green space, Vance was always there when we needed help. It’s an honor to be able to help preserve his legacy in the community.”

Formerly known as the Brentwood Room, the T. Vance Little Room will be a place where visitors will be able to conduct research about Brentwood’s history on their own. “The donations we received for this new addition at the library were above and beyond what we expected or hoped for,” Gil Hutchinson, the group's president added. “We thank all those that donated in honor of Vance’s memory.”

“Vance Little was a great friend of the Brentwood Library, and the many contributions we have received in his memory show that he was a great friend to the whole community. The contribution of the Citizens for Brentwood Green Space is especially significant because Vance helped that group get started by providing them with meeting space," Library Director Chuck Sherrill said. "The T. Vance Little Room at the Brentwood Library will continue his tradition of providing an elegant setting for community activity. We are most grateful to the members of Green Space for making this generous gift to the library.”

Limited numbers of Vance's final book, Gently Flows the Harpeth, published right before his death, is now on sale at the Brentwood Library and at the Brentwood Municipal Building. The book, published in conjunction with the city's 40th anniversary is $40.

The Citizens for Brentwood Green Space, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to preserving open space in the form of parks, trails, historic sites, and flood plains while being sensitive to the rights of landowners and developers. For more information, visit http://www.brentwoodgreenspace.org/

In photo, from left: Gil Hutchinson, Chuck Sherrill, Bert Bosse